Friday, November 12, 2010

NORWEGIAN MOUNTAIN BREAD - PAIN RUSTIQUE NORVÉGIEN

I like to think of myself as an adventurous and daring cook/baker. Of course, there are times when life is chaotic and I just simply don't feel like staying in the kitchen for hours. It is when one feels lazy and tired that certain simple and unpretentious recipes come in handy...

Last Saturday I really had no desire to spend more than 2 hours baking bread. It was a sunny and warm day, and there was no way I was going to stay in the apartment considering the fact that the weather prognoses for Sunday were dreadfully awful.

So, as I am in a very Scandinavian- (music, culture & films) and healthy-oriented period at the moment it is not surprising that my attention was captured by Nigella Lawson's "Norwegian Mountain Bread" recipe while I was surfing on expat Siri's blog ("The Transplanted Baker").

I dare you to find a more uncomplicated and rapid bread recipe! There is absolutely no kneading, rising or shaping involved (the loaf rises in the oven). The only thing you have to do is weigh and mix all the ingredients together, pour the dough into the baking pan, put it in the oven and then keep an eye on the clock and the thermostat knob. Magic, no?

For such an inelaborate and rustic bread the result was remarkable. It was very flavorful, aromatic, pleasantly moist, wonderfully seedy, interestingly dense/compact, slightly sweet and so enjoyable. It somehow reminded me of Valais Rye Bread (Walliser Roggenbrot), German Pumpernickel, Swedish Rägbröd or Danish Ruggbrød, only without the sourness (since it is not made with sourdough).

This excellent "Norwegian Mountain Bread" is perfect when served with cheese, smoked salmon, Gravlax or cured meats such as Pastrami or corned beef. I'm sure you'll be delighted by this bread's unique aroma and texture.

Ingredients:1 Cup plus 2 Tbs (250ml) Milk or buttermilk, lukewarm1 Cup plus 2 Tbs (250ml) Water, lukewarm2 Cups (255g) Whole-wheat flour1/2 Cup (64g) Rye flour2 1/4 Tsp (1/4 oz./7 g) Active dry yeast1/4 Cup (50g) Rolled oats (not instant)1 1/2 Tsp Fine sea salt1 Tbs Light brown sugar8 Tbs Blend of any of the following (preferably all)- Wheat germ- Sunflower seeds- Flaxseeds (linseeds)- Pumpkin seeds- WheatbranMethod:1. Mix the milk, water and yeast together in a measuring jug and let rest for about 10 minutes. Combine all the other ingredients in a large bowl.2. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, stirring all the while to make a sticky mixture. Then beat for about 2-3 minutes.3. Butter your loaf pan well, pour the dough into the pan, sprinkle a few extra seeds and oats over the surface of the bread, and place in a cold oven (middle).

4. Turn the on oven to 100° C (225° F). After 30 minutes, turn it up to 175° C (325° F) for one hour (see remarks).5. When the loaf begins to get nice and brown, take it out of the oven, run a butter knife along the sides of your pan and let rest for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the bread from the pan.6. Allow the bread to cool thoroughly on a rack in order to prevent the insides from getting gummy.

Remarks:As I had no wheatbran or wheat germ, I used 3 tbs sunflower seeds, 3 tbs flaxseeds and et 2 tbs pumpkin seeds.Nigella recommends poking the bread with a cake tester or fine skewer to make sure it's done, ie: the skewer will come out clean.You may wish to return the loaf to the oven for an extra 10-15 minutes if you judge that it hasn't baked enough (that's what I did).

I'd never imagined something so delicious could be so simple. I love making bread but sometimes the effort seems too much. Your photos show a lot of colour and are comforting in these grey and rainy days. Have a great weekend Rosa!

Oh Rosa...it's really fabulous to have foodie friends like you who is thinking magic for herself on a lazy day...and then turns around and shares the recipe with people like myself who seeks this type of no-fuss bread.

The loaf turned our stunningly gorgeous and of course those pics lure us right into your world ;o)

Enjoy as much great weather as you possibly can...have a great weekend.

This recipe looks amazing, I esp love the seeds on the top, and since my bf is Norwegian I should probably make it for him. :) I dont know if I have any rye flour, but I could probably just sub it? Great recipe Rosa, thanks so much for sharing!

RUCHIRA: Sorry to hear that! Strange... It should not happen. That bread rises in the oven for 30 minutes at 100° C and then bakes at 175° C. Did you let it rise before you put it in the oven? It sounds as if it has risen for a too long period of time.

I adore the texture of the seeds and rustic quality of this bread - would be fantastic with gravlax and cheese. The simplicity of no kneading, no rising, no shaping reminds me Irish Soda Bread. My kind of baking!

Like the other posters, I have to agree that the pic's make the bread look wonderful and enticing... however, I wonder if anyone had tried making it.I made it yesterday - 27 Feb. 2011 - using my KitchenAid stand mixer ...followed the instructions exactly, using all fresh ingredients and the loaf came out as dense as a brick - it actually looked like a brick too - It looked more like a Quick Bread than a yeast bread...barely rose. I tried eating the end piece before passing judgment and I'm sorry to say it was terrible.This recipe is from a cookbook by Nigella Lawson... makes me wonder if it was ever pretested.

BARBARA43: Thanks for passing by and for leaving a comment! I am so sorry to hear that you bread didn't turn out as well as mine. I must say that I don't really know what happened as I make mine on a regular basis and it always end up being perfect. It is a dense bread (very much like pumpernickel) which does't rise much, though. I generally make it by hand and don't overbeat it. Other people on the net have baked it and loved it (http://transplantedbaker.typepad.com/the_transplanted_baker/2010/01/lazy-mans-bread.html)... I cannot find an explanation to why yours was not edible. :-( Cheers.

Hi Rosa,Thanks so much for responding.I checked the "transplanted baker" site that you mentioned.I made my bread using your recipe which differs somewhat from the other site.They say to "stir to make a sticky dough" - start at 225F, then increase the temperature to '350F' for 1 hour.Your recipe says to "stir to make a sticky dough, then beat 2-3 minutes" - start at 225F, then increase the temperature to '325F'for 1 hour. Unfortunately, I beat it in my KitchenAid for 3 minutes and baked it at the lower temperature of 325F...which was probably the reason for the "brick" I ended up with. I love Pumpernickel bread, seeded breads, and all European breads for that matter, so I will continue to bake those breads and learn from my mistakes. Now that I know it was me and not the recipe that was at fault, I'll give it another try. Thank you Rosa.Have a wonderful weekend.Barbara

I tried making the bread too - but it failed to rise at all, and then it became a pretty flat, superwet (on the inside, anyway) loaf of bread. :-( I am not sure if I stirred too much, or.. is that really enough yeast? And can it really rise at 100C? When I tried some of the bread anyway, it did taste really good, but it was too wet to eat, really. Alternatively, could I let it rise outside the oven and just bake it shorter? Thanks! Valerie

BARBARA43: You are welcome! Yes, it is better to make the bread by hand. That is also how I proceed. Better not overwork it or use the Kitchen Aid. I hope you'll get a better result next time....Cheers.

VALERIE: I'm so sorry to hear about that! Well, this bread is meant to be dense and only rise a little. If it is too wet add a little flour (no more than 1/4 cup)... But it should not give a dough that can be kneaded. It has to be wet. Therefore you have to bake it longer and test it's doneness with a skewer.There is enough yeast (I've even added a little more compared to Nigella). It rises perfectly at 100°C.I guess you could try letting it rise outside of the oven and baking and skip the first part (no rising at 100° C for an hour).I hope it'll work better next time. :-)Cheers.

So glad there's another bread maker out there who mixes the dough by hand - how else would you know when it's ready unless you get your hands in it? This recipe is great for novice bread makers - no kneading or shaping - how simple can that be? I'm making this today - hope it turns out as lovely as your loaf.

After reading some of the comments, I let the dough rest for 30 minutes before proofing in the warm oven. It rose as much as I expected and baked up perfectly within about 50 minutes - this was a great bread to make on this busy sunday - thanks so much for the recipe, will definitely make again